small circle

small circle

small circle A circle on the surface of a sphere whose centre is not coincident with the centre of the sphere, so that a plane whose circumference is a small circle does not bisect the sphere. In a stereographic projection a small circle projects on to the plane of projection as a circle whose centre lies inside the primitive circle. If the small-circle plane is horizontal it will project as a circle smaller than the primitive circle but concentric with it. If it is vertical it will project as an arc, concave towards the centre of the primitive circle.

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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "small circle." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "small circle." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-smallcircle.html

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "small circle." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-smallcircle.html

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small circle

small circle A circle on a sphere whose plane does not pass through the centre of the sphere. On the celestial sphere, all lines of declination are small circles except for the celestial equator, which is a great circle.

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"small circle." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"small circle." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-smallcircle.html

"small circle." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-smallcircle.html

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